


Of Nightmares and Memories

by DrWhlqist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Attempted Undertale Genocide Run, Gen, Gender-Neutral Chara, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, POV Second Person, Payrus Toriel and Flowey show up too, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader Is Frisk, References to Undertale Genocide Route, Sans Remembers Resets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 14:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12655551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrWhlqist/pseuds/DrWhlqist
Summary: You have nightmares about what happened in the underground, especially from the times Chara forced you to kill everyone. You remember everything perfectly.As a result, you're uncomfortable around Sans. He's the only one you and Chara couldn't defeat, and he's the only one who might actually remember what happened. You tend to avoid him, but sometimes you end up alone with him anyways. These times lead to some interesting conversations.





	Of Nightmares and Memories

You felt like you should be happy. After all the restarts, you'd finally found a happy ending. The monsters were no longer trapped underground, you lived with Toriel, and humans and monsters were slowly getting used to each other. You had become a sort of ambassador between them, showing other humans how kind and interesting monsters could be. Asgore did most of the talking, but you were there as proof that monsters and humans could get along.

This was clearly the best ending you'd gotten, and you fully intended on keeping it. However, that by itself couldn't make you happy. You were haunted by your past timelines, ones where you accidentally killed someone, where you purposefully killed someone (after sharing your mind with Chara), where you were killed. You couldn't forget them. They haunted your during your waking moments and were even worse at night. Even in this timeline you hadn't been perfect. You couldn't save Asriel. 

You had the sneaking suspicion that you weren't the only one having troubles. You'd never talked to him about it, but based on his comments in previous timelines, you were pretty sure Sans knew about resets and was able to recognize when something had happened before (like when he had killed you multiple times). You weren't sure of the extent of what he knew and could remember between resets, but out of all of your monster friends you two were probably the least close and you were sure that was why. In one timeline, he'd even admitted that he only befriended you to keep you from resetting.

You were such a disappointment. You hated yourself for how you let Chara take control. You were sure if he remembered enough, he hated you too. Even if he didn't remember, you had a hard time believing he wouldn't at least have leftover feelings from the times you'd killed Papyrus and all those times you'd tried to kill him. Thankfully, you and Chara had never succeeded. Chara always eventually got tired of fighting him and would reset to go on another murder spree. That was always your chance to take control back and push them out. You didn't succeed every time, but you succeeded enough that you'd eventually won for good, and managed to have the ending you were still living in today.

After all you'd been through, it's no surprise when you wake up to yet another nightmare. The one where Sans murdered you over and over again, even when you broke free of Chara's influence long enough to choose mercy.

Your nightmares seem to alternate mostly between Sans, Chara, and Flowey, sometimes with just one and sometimes with all three of them showing up. Other monsters show up too, usually with you murdering them, but occasionally the other way around. Your last dream about Undyne had ended in your death, but that had been months ago.

You shiver and look at the clock. Almost time to get up anyways. You and Papyrus have plans to hang out. Papyrus is an early riser and always likes doing things early in the day, while the sun is at its brightest.

You complete your morning ritual and head downstairs. Toriel greets you warmly with a hug, as she always does.

You'd chosen to live with her. You weren't entirely sure how she'd done it, but Toriel had gotten custody of you from the orphanage. You weren't legally adopted yet, and Toriel had mentioned that it would likely take a long time to follow the proper legal procedures, but you were with her and that was all that mattered.

She hands you some tea and oatmeal.

“How are you this morning Frisk?”

You don't want to talk about your nightmare (you could never explain the resets to anyone) so you just shrug.

“Still tired?”

You nod your head.

“Well not too tired to hang out with Sans and Papyrus I hope?”

You shake your head.

“Good!”

You finish your breakfast and get dressed. Toriel drives you to Sans and Papyrus's house.

The two of you approach the door and Toriel goes through her typical ritual.

"Knock, knock," she says with a grin.

"who's there?" asks Sans' voice.

"Isabel."

"isabel who?"

"Isabel working? I had to knock!"

Toriel starts to snicker at her own joke as Sans opens the door, laughing too. You smile. It's always nice seeing Toriel so happy. You can't stand it when you see her in her more melancholy moods, which always seem to happen when Toriel doesn't realize you're there.

With her newly discovered knock-knock joke out of the way it's Sans' turn for a response. He's always surprisingly quick on his feet. You have to wonder if he looks up puns ahead of time and if so, just how good of a memory he must have to trot them out at the perfect moment.

"we'll have to get a new doorbell. just don't knock it 'til you try it."

Toriel laughs even harder at Sans' pun. Once she catches her breath she turns to you.

“Text me when you're done! I love you!” Toriel says while kissing you on the head. You blush and say goodbye. She's so much more affectionate than any of the humans you've lived with. You're not sure if you'll ever get used to it.

“Be good,” she addresses both you and Sans.

Sans winks at her and you smile. Then she's gone and you turn to face Sans and head inside.

“you're probably wondering where papyrus is huh? he went to the new gym with undyne. he should be back soon," Sans says. 

You smile nervously and walk inside. You generally try to avoid being alone with Sans, but it seems you have little choice now.

"looks like you could've used a _femur_ hours of sleep huh kiddo?"

You chuckle nervously. "Yeah, I didn't sleep that well."

"that seems to happen a lot," he observes.

You shrug. "Better than sleeping all the time like you," you try teasing him. His grin gets slightly bigger at that.

"papyrus would be so proud." He wipes an imaginary tear from his eye. "well what do you want to do until he gets back?"

You shrug again. It's one of your favorite responses.

"have you eaten already?"

You nod.

"no sleeping and no eating? well there go all of my ideas," he teases. He sits down on the couch, and you follow, though you carefully sit on the furthest seat away. He just keeps his usual grin and turns the tv on, flipping to Mettaton's new channel. You sit in companionable silence until you start to doze off. You startle a bit when you feel a blanket placed on top of you, but relax again when Sans goes back to sit on the other side of the couch.

About half an hour later you're awoken by a loud voice, "I'M HOME! FRISK ARE YOU HERE YET? UNDYNE AND I LOST TRACK OF TIME."

You open your eyes and look to the other side of the couch. Sans seems like he'd been asleep too, with his feet on the couch almost touching yours. You two share a grin as Papyrus comes into the room.

"SLEEPING? OH NO! YOU NEED TO SPEND LESS TIME WITH SANS!"

You and Papyrus have a good time hanging out after that, and when the day's over and you go back to sleep, you don't have any nightmares at all.

~~~~~~

The next time you and Sans end up alone together, it's for an extended period of time. It's a teacher workday for Toriel, meaning you don't have school, but she has to go in to take care of some things. You aren't entirely sure what. Normally Papyrus or Alphys would watch you, but both of them have jobs now.

Papyrus works as loss prevention at a store. Just his presence and constant attention keep people from shoplifting. You're pretty sure you heard someone say that loss prevention people aren't actually allowed to subdue shoplifters anyway, which makes it the perfect job for him. Alphys is still a scientist. Undyne has a job too as a night guard, meaning she's free during the day, but after hearing about how the two of you once burned down Undyne's house Toriel doesn't trust you two to be alone together. Asgore is probably free, but Toriel still isn't talking to him. That left Sans.

You're pretty sure that Sans has multiple jobs, but he never really talks about them so you aren't sure what all he does. You do know that they are all pretty flexible and that at least one of them is called a "mystery shopper." Apparently he doesn't have to be at it today, or at whatever other jobs he may hold.

You two end up watching a marathon of one of Mettaton's new TV shows. Sans falls asleep on the couch (he does that a lot). When it gets close to lunchtime, you take the opportunity to make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

You go into the kitchen and start grabbing sandwich supplies. You find a clean plate in the cabinet and lay the bread slices on it, then pull out the drawer to grab a knife. It looks like all of the butter knives are dirty. Oh well, you saw the steak knives in their usual place. One of those will work well enough for the peanut butter. You grab a knife and start to bring it back over to the jar of peanut butter.

"heya." San's voice stops you in your tracks. You turn to see him standing in the doorway, a bead of sweat on his forehead. You look down at the knife in your hand and the memories rush into your head. Memories of the last time you were holding a knife, facing Sans.

You drop the knife as your blood runs cold. Sans teleports forward and grabs the knife. You flinch and take a step back, starting to shake a bit with bottled-up emotion. You don't want Sans to know how much he scared you, how much you scared yourself. But it's pretty clear he noticed your flinch and backwards motion. He has on a forced grin.

"sorry, didn't mean to startle ya. guess we'll just throw this knife in the sink since it's dirty now, alright?" He does just that.

You try your hardest to relax yourself as you watch his movements.

"it’s okay, everyone drops things sometimes. i mean, i drop puns all the time, heh. why don't you just go relax on the couch and i'll finish your sandwich for you, okay?"

You're grateful for the chance to leave the room, although you really aren't feeling hungry anymore. You curl up into a ball on the couch. You can't stop thinking about past timelines, specifically ones where you fought Sans. You spare a brief moment to wonder if the sweat on his forehead meant he'd remembered those too. Or maybe it was just that same sense of déjà vu that the other monsters seemed to get sometimes.

It takes Sans a suspiciously long time to finish making a simple sandwich, but you're okay with the extra time alone it gives you.

'here's your _sans_ wich," he says as he hands it to you. Even the silly pun hasn't made his grin look less forced. You give him a forced smile yourself as you take it.

"look kiddo, sorry if i startled you in there," he says while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "it was just so _knife_ to see you."

You can't even smile at that one.

"okay, yeah, that could've been better. next time, just don't use the sharp knives okay? they can be dangerous."

Yeah, for your friends and family. You nod your head in agreement.

"just ask me for help the next time we're out of butter knives."

"Okay."

~~~~~~~~

The next time you and Sans are alone it’s in your room. Papyrus had given you a ride home when Toriel said she needed to stay late for a staff meeting. Sans had been suspiciously absent; now you know why.

You’re surprised to see him there, and even more surprised that he's holding your journal, clearly having read it. 

You feel violated, but you can't help but recall all the private things you had looked at and read in the Undeground. Perhaps turnabout's fair play.

"wow kid, you actually remember all of that?"

He doesn't have to indicate which part he's read. It's obvious what he's talking about. You nod.

While you'd kept your journal entries deliberately vague, someone with knowledge of what had happened could probably figure it out. You'd made references to "restarts" and grisly nightmares of being impaled by bones, spears, and vines. 

Keeping a journal wasn’t even your own idea. Toriel had insisted you start seeing a human therapist. Your therapist was alright, but sessions were difficult when you couldn’t really tell him everything. Still, he had told you that if there were things you didn’t want to talk about, it would be helpful to write them down in a journal. 

So far it did seem to be helping a little bit, so it had seemed worth the risk. You hadn't expected Sans to invade your privacy like this. He was hardly ever even at your and Toriel's house.

"you could be so different whenever you restarted. i always assumed, or at least hoped it meant you didn't remember what had happened before. tori mentioned you had nightmares sometimes, but those could've been caused by anything." He pauses. "shit, all the times i killed you. no wonder you never wanted to be close. you remember all of them?"

How could you forget? He'd murdered you at least a hundred times. Chara certainly had been determined. You don't respond, but a tear leaks down your cheek.

Sans turns serious; his eyes no longer have that familiar light in them. "so, if you were the same person all those times...why'd you do it?"

In hindsight you were amazed that wasn't his first question. You freeze up.

"you have 5 seconds."

You're pretty sure he only gave you time because you don't have a weapon on hand and he knows it. You don't want to be killed this time. You never did, but this time would be the worst of all, after you'd finally gotten a happy ending for everyone.

"S-sans."

"four."

"I'm sorry!"

"not good enough buddy."

You start to feel your soul being drawn out. Thinking of how this will ruin everyone else's happy ending fills you with determination. You're determined to keep him from killing you.

"It wasn't me!"

"pretty sure you just admitted it was. i'm a big fan of pranks but this one isn't funny."

"It was Chara!" The name gives him pause. You see his Gaster Blasters, but they aren't attacking yet.

"i've heard that name before. the question is, how have you?"

"Chara possessed me."

He doesn't look like he believes you.

"It's true! Asriel knows it too!"

"asriel?"

"He's...he's still down there. I couldn't save him. But he remembers everything too! And he knows what happened."

Sans looks just as doubtful as before. "sorry kid, but you can't blame others for your actions."

The Gaster Blasters fire. Thank goodness you remember how to avoid that attack. It would only take two hits for it all to be over. You didn't even have any food on you. After all, who carries a slice of pie and who knows what else in their pocket 24/7? You only had in the past when you were expecting everyone to try to kill you.

If you can't convince him that you're telling the truth, there's a good chance that you'll have to reset everything since your last save had been during this conversation. It's your turn now though which means you have time. Sans often broke the rules of battle, but you hadn't yet seen him interrupt your turn. You have the feeling he could though, and would before any sort of help could arrive.

You choose *reason. "If you kill me it'll all be reset!" It wasn't technically true but now wasn't the time to explain about saves if he didn't know about them already. Your last save wouldn't do you much good anyways if he refused to listen—you really would have to reset.

"better a reset than you torturing all of them. letting them get their happy ending only to ruin everything. i can't let them go through that. at least before you would end things quickly."

You stand still when a few blue bones shoot out at you and jump over the white ones.

You choose *beg. "Please don't take away everyone else's happy ending! They deserve to be happy!"

"agreed. too bad i can't trust you not to ruin it for them yourself. i've been waiting for it all to end anyways, and everyone else will never know it ever happened."

Your heart breaks a bit at that last statement. After all this had he really been waiting for you to just reset? He attacks again. You barely manage to dodge all of the bones.

You choose *bargain. "Please, just let me take you to Asriel. He can explain."

"and give you the chance to kill _everyone_ now that the barrier's finally broken? to destroy the entire world? i don't think so."

You're turned blue and are slammed against the wall. Only a few times though, he's holding back. Even so, you have no LOVE in this life, and thus only have one HP left.

You choose *cry. Well, choose is a strong word.

"you've never cried before while fighting me," he remarks.

His name turns yellow. You remember all the other times his name had been yellow. Those hadn't ended well for you. Still, you have to try. You choose MERCY.

"you have one chance. where is asriel?"

"The flower patch in the ruins."

He grabs your hand and in the blink of an eye you find yourself at the door in Snowdin leading to the ruins.

"where's the flower patch?"

You lead him there, his black eye sockets focused intently on you the whole time. You pass an old mouse hole and see that the cheese is gone. Imagining the mouse eating the cheese fills you with determination. If Asriel doesn't cooperate, you'll just have to go back to this save as many times as it takes.

You think Sans can tell you did something. You feel his gaze on the back of your head, but you don't say anything. 

While you walk, you see Sans begin texting on his phone.

At your curious glance he holds it up for you to see. He’s texted Toriel and asked if you can stay at his house until 5. She’s agreed. You hope that will give you enough time to convince Sans.

Finally, you make it to the flower patch. Had it always been this long of a walk?

"Oh, Frisk!...what's Smiley Trashbag doing here?"

Sans makes a small noise that could almost be a gasp. You recall him mentioning a talking flower influencing Papyrus on previous runs. You're sure he's made the connection.

"flowey," he says.

"Wait, you two know each other?" You hadn't expected Sans to know his name.

"Remember how I told you I had all of the determination before you got here? Well, I had adventures of my own, and this jerk liked to ruin them. Why are you even here anyways? Are you two just here to gloat? After all the resets you've been through, you guys finally get your happy ending while I'm stuck down here forever?"

You shake your head mutely.

"I liked you better when you were Chara," he complains at you.

Well that was easy. You hope Sans doesn't think you've planned this out.

"chara?" Sans asks.

"Surely you remember them? They did try to kill you so many times. If only they'd succeeded," Flowey laments. "Then we could've ruled the world together."

You decide not to remind Flowey that Chara hadn't exactly held a giant soft spot in their heart for him.

"And now the three of us are the only ones left who remember how great they were."

Sans grits his teeth. "And how did you know them exactly?"

"I'm Chara's brother, you idiot. You always like to pretend you're so smart, you know so much about the timelines, and you here don't even know who Chara is or how we're related? What a joke." Flowey sticks his tongue out at Sans.

Sans takes your hand and teleports you back to the entrance.

"explain," he demands of you again.

"Asriel was Toriel and Asgore's son. Chara was the first human to fall. Asriel found them and they were adopted by Toriel and Asgore. One day, Chara got sick. Asriel used their soul to go to the surface, carrying their body with him. Chara's soul tried to take over and make him kill humans, but he didn't want to. The humans killed him. Alphys put his soul into a flower. There are videos and notes in the true lab." You blurt out all at once.

"and how did chara come to possess you?"

"I don't know," you admit. "I think their body was buried under all of those flowers. Maybe somehow a part of their soul was still there? I don't know. But they were in my head and after I died enough, I was too upset and too weak to keep them from taking over. It's all my fault for being weak. I'm so sorry," you say brokenly.

Sans doesn't say anything to that, but he takes your hand and you suddenly find yourself in the true lab.

"where?" Sans asks. You show him both the notes and the videos. He's silent the whole time. Afterwards he turns to you.

"you didn't want to kill anyone?"

"Never," you say, tears rolling down your cheeks. You weren't entirely sure how Chara had done it some times and not others, but it had always been their voice in your head telling you to kill monsters and their control that prevented you from choosing MERCY. It was your fault that you had been weak enough to let them have control sometimes, but that doesn't mean you had wanted it.

"i believe you," Sans says. You aren't sure you had ever felt more relieved.

"I'm so sorry that I was too weak to keep them out every time," you apologize again. You know you can never apologize enough.

"it wasn't your fault kid. you tried, and eventually you succeeded. that's what matters. come here," he says, opening his arms for a hug. You stay put.

"ah, sorry. guess i've murdered you a few times that way huh?" He grimaces. He checks his phone. "we need to get back soon. do you trust me enough to take my hand?"

You look down at his hand but don't respond.

"i'm sorry i...reacted like that. you can understand why i did though right?"

You look into his eye sockets and nod.

"you always were an extraordinarily understanding kid. here," he offers his hand again. "let's go home."

You take it this time.

When you make it back you pull out your phone. It's another of Alphys' inventions, but this time it's mixed with human technology and can do other things like tell the time and access the above-ground version of the internet. 

You check the time. Toriel will probably be by to pick you up within the next 15 minutes.

"we're just going to keep this between ourselves, right frisk?"

You nod. No one else could ever know about the things you'd done, the people you'd hurt.

"glad we're in agreement. i would hate to have a bone to pick with ya."

You stare at him.

"well i have something i need to take care of in my room. you'll be okay just waiting here by yourself, right?" He doesn't wait for an answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next time you see Sans, it's like nothing ever happened. Of course, there are other monsters around, so you're both on your best behavior (even though you studiously avoid each other as much as is possible in a small gathering of friends).

The times after that are much the same.

Nothing else really happens until the time Papyrus suggests a sleepover. Sans is nowhere to be found the whole night (presumably either in his locked room or at Grillby's) and you appreciate that. You and Papyrus make a pillow fort next to the couch and decide to sleep inside it.

You eventually fall asleep, only to be woken by another nightmare. It's of Sans again. You wonder whether being in his house triggered it or if you would've had the same nightmare regardless. You don't want to go back to sleep after that so you head to the kitchen. You open the pantry trying to decide if you want a snack when you hear a noise in the doorway.

"sorry kid, didn't expect you to be in here." He turns to leave.

You muster up your courage enough to utter a quiet "wait."

He glances back at you. "Please don't leave yet." You're not entirely sure why, but his presence is almost comforting. You suspect it has something to do with seeing him acting normal and not looking like he wants to kill you. It's easier to remind yourself that the nightmare wasn't real (anymore) with him standing there calmly, no glowing eye or Gaster Blasters in sight. He even has that familiar light in his sockets. It's a relief.

"whatever you want kid." He goes to the fridge and grabs some leftover fries and a bottle of ketchup.

"Midnight snack?" you ask, trying to avoid awkward silence. 

"you betch'a. i only just had my ten o'clock snack two hours ago; i'm due for another. want any?" He offers you a cold fry. You accept it. It's not very good cold but it's the thought that counts.

"what about you? what's got you up so late?" he asks. You're quiet. "another nightmare?" he asks quietly. You nod your head. "do you want to talk about it?"

Do you? You're not sure you would want to discuss him murdering you just yet, although you do appreciate the offer. 

Sans sees your hesitation. "it's okay if you don't. i don't talk about mine either. but if you ever decide you want to i'm all ears. well, all bone really but you get the point." He smiles. You smile back.

Sans has nightmares too? You can't help but imagine that at least some of them are similar to yours. Maybe one day you'll find out for sure. In the meantime, it's helpful to know you aren't alone.

You spend some time silently eating fries together until you decide to try going back to sleep again.

"night kiddo," he says with a wave as you part ways.

~~~~~~~~~~

After that, you start going out of your way to interact with Sans after your nightmares. Even if it's only by text. Even when the nightmares aren't about him it helps, just because he's the only one who even understands why you have nightmares in the first place.

Most times it's just a simple "Goodnight" text at 3am. You never actually talk about what happens in your dreams. You're sure he can guess.

~~~~~~~~~

Sans and Papyrus start driving you home from school every Tuesday and Thursday so Toriel can stay late for students who need extra help. Papyrus loves the extra opportunity to drive his car and you love not having to wait by yourself in Toriel's classroom when she takes students to her office.

It's during the third week that Papyrus invites you to a movie night on Wednesday night.

"FRISK! DO YOU WANT TO HANG OUT WITH ME TOMORROW AND EAT SPAGHETTI AND WATCH METTATON'S NEW MOVIE?"

You don't normally hang out with him on Wednesday nights, but you don't really have anything else going on. "Sure, Papyrus, if Toriel says I can." 

"GOOD. I'M SURE SHE WILL. SANS WILL BE THERE TOO, RIGHT SANS?" 

"sure, bro." 

"THEN IT'S A DATE! A FRIENDSHIP DATE!"

You glance at Sans, who shrugs. 

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye!" 

You've arrived at your destination so you exit the car and wave.

"GOODBYE FAVORITE HUMAN!" 

"bye, kid."

They wait long enough to make sure you make it inside okay and then drive off.

~~~~~~~~~~

Toriel walks you up to Sans and Papyrus's door and waits with you while you ring the doorbell. Papyrus is quick to answer.

"HELLO TINY HUMAN!" You wonder if he'll ever stop calling you human now that he's been meeting other humans. It doesn't seem likely.

"Hey Papyrus!" You give him a big hug. 

"YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN HANGING OUT!" 

"That's good to hear. Call me when you're ready to be picked up," Toriel says while bending down to give you a goodbye hug.

After she leaves Papyrus steers you over to the couch where Sans is lounging. "NOW YOU TWO HUG."

You both give Papyrus surprised expressions. 

"YOU TWO NEED TO BECOME BETTER FRIENDS. IT'S A GOOD THING I'M SUCH AN AMAZING FRIEND AND CAN HELP OUT!"

Sans shoots you a look and you nod your head to signal an okay. He stands up and you hug each other. As you let go, you hear the noise of multiple whoopee cushions.

"SANS! THAT IS NOT HOW YOU MAKE FRIENDS!"

While Papyrus looks annoyed, you can't help but smile. That was one thing that had always been consistent, Sans greeting you with a whoopee cushion. The familiarity does make you feel more comfortable.

"SANS, TAKE THOSE OUT AND DO IT PROPERLY."

Sans removes some whoopee cushions from under his jacket and you hug again. This time it's a different noise, one you eventually recognize as a rubber chicken. Your grin widens as you fail to hold back a snort of laughter.

"SANS!" Papyrus looks at you. "FINE, THE HUMAN IS LAUGHING AT LEAST. WELL, I LEFT SOME SPAGHETTI IN THE FRIDGE."

"uh pap-"

"GOODBYE! I KNOW YOU TWO WILL BECOME BEST FRIENDS! ALMOST AS BEST OF FRIENDS AS ME AND FRISK!" Papyrus calls as he slides his way out the door. At least he didn't break a window this time.

"heh, didn't realize our friendship bothered him so much."

You neglect to point out that the last time Papyrus did this it was with someone who was trying to kill you. You don't think Sans will appreciate the comparison, and frankly it makes you a little uncomfortable yourself.

"hope this doesn't bother you too much kiddo. didn't realize this was what he had planned."

"It's okay," you say. "Maybe he's right. Maybe we should try to become better friends. I mean if it's that noticeable..."

Sans sighs. "you've got a point kid, but i'd really prefer not to make you uncomfortable. howsabout you take the lead on this one."

"Well, Papyrus mentioned dinner," you bring up with a grimace. Sans grins knowingly.

"we can go to grillby's. i'll get rid of the spaghetti later. i won't tell if you won't."

"Deal."

"well then, i know a shortcut." He takes your hand and leads you up the stairs. Suddenly you find yourself outside of Grillby's. You wonder if his "shortcuts" will ever get less disorienting. 

Sans drops your hand as you walk inside. He forgoes his usual seat at the bar for a more secluded table in the corner.

"alright kid, what'll you be treating us to tonight?"

"Can we have burgers and fries?"

"now you're talkin'." Grillby chooses this moment to walk up and Sans gives him your order. Once Grillby leaves, Sans focuses an intense look upon you.

"kid, i feel like i need to apologize-"

"Don't," you interrupt him. He looks surprised. "Please don't apologize. It's all my fault." You can almost feel tears forming. Sans notices your expression and doesn't quite seem to know what to do.

"frisk, listen-"

"I'm the one who let Chara take control, I'm the one who keeps scaring you, I'm the one keeping secrets," you whisper.

"i dunno kid, apart from the first one, that sounds an awful lot like me."

You look up at him from under your bangs.

"you're doing the best you can. you're handling everything pretty damn well. better than most adults would." He pauses to make sure he has your full attention. "like i was saying before, i need to apologize to you. i haven't been considering how my actions might affect you. i need to remember that i'm not the only one who's scared. and i need to show you more of the trust you've more than earned by now."

That caught your attention. "You're scared too?"

"scared as hell. at any moment, things could reset again. except i know you now kid. you aren't planning on resetting again are you?" You desperately shake your head no.

"good to hear. i can't promise i'll be perfect, but i'll try to be more trusting of you in the future. it's too much work for a lazy guy like me to be so jumpy all the time, heh."

You give a weak smile as the food arrives.

"ketchup?" Sans offers, holding a ketchup bottle in your direction.

You turn away from Sans and face Grillby instead. "Grillby, can I have some ketchup please?" 

Grillby grabs a new bottle for you from the back.

"you're learnin' kiddo." Sans smiles at you, not upset at all that you've avoided one of his pranks.

You eat in companionable silence, though you both know you should continue the conversation eventually. After dinner Sans suggests you star gaze at the park at Mt. Ebott. You readily agree. 

You find a patch of grass with a clear view of the sky and lay down side by side. Gazing at the stars makes you feel calmer, and you wonder if that's part of the reason Sans does it so often.

You start to doze off a bit, until a text startles you.

Sans turns his head to look at you questioningly.

"It's Toriel. She wants to know when she should pick me up," you say as you read the text.

Sans checks his own phone. "it is starting to get late. she can pick you up now if that sounds good."

You agree and text back a response. You and Sans both stand up and brush dirt off of your clothes. Then Sans offers you a hand and when you take it, you've once again been transported, this time to Sans' living room.

Though you're frustrated with Papyrus' tendency to thrust you into uncomfortable and sometimes potentially lethal situations, you have to admit he gets results. You're happy with how the night turned out. You feel like you and Sans were able to connect in a way you hadn't expected; knowing that he's scared too and willing to talk to you about it somehow comforts you. You're glad the two of you talked.

It doesn't take long before Toriel appears. Your houses are only a few blocks away from each other.

You and Sans share a secretive smile before you head out, with Toriel thanking Sans for having you over.

You don't have any nightmares that night.

You don't have any nightmares the next night either.

You do have them some nights, but they're never the ones about Sans anymore, and when you see Sans in person you're much more likely to share a conspiratorial grin with him than avoid him.

Things still aren't perfect—you aren't sure they ever will be with your past—but they're better.


End file.
